The inner round table
You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
In the metaphor of the inner round table, I gather whatever is true inside me around the central and organizing Truth. That central and organizing Truth is like the steady flame of a candle. In gathering the parts of myself around it, I simply notice…and let it be.
I’m trying to practice this more often: gently being present to what’s in me, both the parts of me that I like, and the parts that I’d just as soon pretend not to see.
Who’s around the table today?
Ah, I see you. Welcome.
Maybe through this practice, I’m allowing God to bring about more of something that God desires: truth in my inward being.
An alternative is that one of the “guests” takes over the party and moves into the center, throwing the other guests into the shadows. The little bit of envy in me starts to direct my actions without my conscious involvement, and my joy goes unnoticed and unexpressed. Or all I see of me is the technical writer, and other parts are pushed out to make room. Artist? What artist?
But the central Truth, the deep enigma of God, organizes and right-sizes all my parts. Centered around the deep Truth, maybe I can learn wisdom in my secret heart.
The metaphor of the inner round table was developed by Chelsea Wakefield, LCSW, a therapist and dreamworker in North Carolina.
